11/01/2017

Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum realized when she was a dance teacher for young girls that she had a passion for teaching and helping others. Later, as a Ph.D. student at Stanford University, Kellum examined the factors that create stress in ethnic minority youth, such as poverty, academic underachievement and family dynamics. This work inspired her to launch a career in service of others.

Now president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph Center (SJC) in Venice, Kellum joined UCLA Anderson to talk about her professional journey to SJC as well as her key leadership tenets. SJC’s mission is to provide working poor families with the inner resources and tools to become productive, stable and self-supporting members of the community. Last year, the center prepared more than 25,000 hot meals and permanently housed 304 people.

Initially facing a $1 million deficit at SJC, Kellum described feeling unprepared for her role there, but harkened back to the simple financial principles she had learned as a young girl in a hard-working family. She helped St. Joseph Center reduce its deficit by cutting costs and focusing resources on programs that had proven successful.

In addition to reducing the deficit, she professionalized St. Joseph’s existing staff and hired a more diverse and talented workforce. She emphasized the importance of seeking new team members, not just based on credentials and experience, but on their passion to serve and willingness to learn and grow. This approach allowed her to extend opportunities to capable individuals who were often unable to secure jobs without degrees.

She described her leadership motto as one that emphasizes being good to each other, leading staff to treat each other with dignity and respect. This culture of kindness permeates throughout the culture of St. Joseph’s.

During Kellum’s tenure, SJC has more than doubled in size, expanded its range of services and broadened the organization’s geographic reach to include underserved communities in South Los Angeles. Facing the daunting reality of 97,000 homeless people in Los Angeles, Kellum begins each day by believing that homelessness can be ended, and this motivation is what gets her to keep going despite the challenges.

Kellum advised UCLA Anderson students to stay close to their passions and “be intentional” in the professional choices they make. She encouraged students to believe in their abilities and skills, and to leap even for the opportunities they may feel inadequate for.